The government on Wednesday scrapped a week-old tax on the export of petrol and cut windfall taxes on overseas shipment of diesel and ATF as well as the one imposed on domestically produced crude oil after global oil prices fell. While the Rs 6 a litre export duty on petrol was scrapped, the tax on the export of diesel and jet fuel (ATF) was cut by Rs 2 per litre each to Rs 11 and Rs 4 respectively, government notifications showed. The tax on domestically produced crude was also cut to Rs 17,000 per tonne from Rs 23,250, a move that will benefit producers like ONGC and Vedanta Ltd.
UK's Cairn Energy Plc has won an arbitration against the Indian government levying Rs 10,247 crore in retrospective taxes, the company said on Wednesday. The three-member tribunal, which also comprised a judge appointed by the Indian government, ruled that India's claim of Rs 10,247 crore in past taxes over a 2006-07 internal reorganisation of Cairn's India business was not a valid demand, sources said. The tribunal asked India to pay the funds withheld along with the interest to the Scottish oil explorer for seizing dividend, tax refund, and sale of shares to partly recover the dues.
The report was made public on the eve of the 16th anniversary of the RTI Act after a study of 20 Information Commissions including the Central Information Commission which have put out data on the cases disposed of and penalties levied by them, a statement from the Satark Nagrik Sangathan said.
Chaudhary also said that 66 per cent of government-sponsored health insurance schemes in the country are being run by the central government. "When the COVID-19 pandemic started, a decision was made for sale of all medicines at the GST rate between 5 and 12 per cent and the GST rate for COVID-19 related medicines and instruments has been reduced to five per cent," he said during the Question Hour.
The government on Tuesday raised the deposit threshold limit to Rs 5 lakh per annum in provident fund for which interest would continue to be tax-exempt.
The government on Tuesday said it has notified the Green Open Access Rules 2022 to further accelerate India's renewable energy programmes. These rules are notified for promoting generation, purchase and consumption of green energy including through waste-to-energy plants. It enables a simplified procedure for the open access to green power, the power ministry said in a statement.
Consumers are paying an exorbitant 180 per cent tax on petrol, and 140 per cent on diesel in Delhi and in most other towns in India. Little wonder then that the central government expects a staggering Rs 3.46 trillion by levying excise duties on retail sale of the two fuels this year, and Rs 3.2 trillion the next. States would generally have had reason to cheer, as they command a 41 per cent share in Centre's tax revenues. But as the Centre has raised excise duties in the form of "cess," the revenue proceeds are by nature not shareable with states.
In big bang reforms, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a relief package for the telecom sector that includes a four-year moratorium on payment of statutory dues by telecom companies as well as allowing 100 per cent foreign investment through the automatic route. Briefing reporters on the decisions taken by the Cabinet, Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said nine structural reforms for the telecom sector were approved. The definition of AGR, which had been a major reason for the stress in the sector, has been rationalised by excluding non-telecom revenue of telecom companies.
Mihir Tanna, Associate Director, S K Patodia & Associates, answers your income tax queries.
Aviation regulator DGCA on Tuesday said it has imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on Air India for denying boarding to passengers holding valid tickets and thereafter not providing the mandatory compensation to them.
Equity indices frittered away a good start to close with modest losses on Monday, pressured by heavy selling in metal stocks after the government imposed export duties on steel-making raw materials to curb soaring prices. The 30-share BSE Sensex opened strong and gained momentum as the session progressed, but came under severe selling pressure in afternoon trade to close 37.78 points or 0.07 per cent lower at 54,288.61. On similar lines, the broader NSE Nifty slipped 51.45 points or 0.32 per cent to end at 16,214.70.
The excise duty cut will translate into a reduction of Rs 9.5 a litre on petrol and Rs 7 a litre in diesel after taking into account its impact on other levies.
The Parliament on Wednesday passed a bill which seeks to provide a statutory framework for the functioning of the National Anti-Doping Agency and the National Dope Testing Laboratory.
The opposition party vowed to hit the streets against the "Modi-made inflation" and run a people's movement over price rise.
The MHA's decision came about a fortnight after the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan and many Afghans arriving in India fearing retribution from that country's new rulers.
The Indian government has asked a federal court in Washington to dismiss Britain's Cairn Energy suit seeking enforcement of a $1.2 billion arbitral award, saying it had sovereign immunity under US law. Cairn had in May asked a US federal court to force Air India to pay a $1.26 billion arbitration award the firm had won in December. The government on August 13 filed a 'Motion to Dismiss' petition in the US District Court for the District of Colombia, saying it lacked subject matter jurisdiction in the dispute between Cairn and the Indian tax authority, according to a filing seen by PTI.
The government may roll out a new foreign trade policy (FTP) of a shorter term of two-three years in a bid to keep pace with the fast-evolving scenarios in international trade which have been triggered by recent disruptions, such as the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war. An FTP is an elaborate policy guideline and strategy to promote the export of goods and services, with a duration of five years usually. The existing policy came into force on April 1, 2015, and was valid for five years, before multiple extensions.
The RBI's surprise rate hike may have been prompted by its inability to convince the government to cut excise duty on petrol and diesel and take other supply-side measures to tame runaway inflation, sources aware of the central bank's thinking said on Thursday. There has been a record Rs 10 a litre increase in petrol and diesel prices in a matter of 16 days beginning March 22, which has further fuelled the already high commodity prices. The RBI, which is mandated to ensure inflation is under 6 per cent, acted with a 0.40 per cent increase in repo rate to check prices before they went completely out of hand.
Capital markets regulator Sebi has penalised stock exchanges -- BSE and NSE -- for "laxity" on their part in detecting misuse of clients' securities worth Rs 2,300 crore by Karvy Stock Broking Ltd (KSBL). In two separate orders, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has imposed a fine of Rs 3 crore on BSE and Rs 2 crore on NSE. The matter relates to KSBL misutilising client securities worth Rs 2,300 crore, belonging to more than 95,000 clients, by pledging them from just one demat account. The funds raised against the pledge were used by KSBL for itself and its group entities.
The CBI inquiry was recommended on Delhi Chief Secretary's report filed earlier this month, showing prima facie violations of GNCTD Act 1991, Transaction of Business Rules (ToBR)-1993, Delhi Excise Act-2009 and Delhi Excise Rules-2010, they said.
Ahead of the first meeting of the top decision-making body in nearly eight months, finance ministers of eight states ruled by non-Bharatiya Janata Party and like-minded parties -- Rajasthan, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Kerala and West Bengal -- have devised a joint strategy to press for a zero tax rate on Covid essentials, sources said.
Tottenham still had an annual cost base running into hundreds of millions of pounds.
'I would not suggest buying these stocks in the dip, as the upside in profit is dented without a safety net for a rainy day.'
After Rajasthan, petrol price on Thursday crossed the Rs 100 per litre mark in Madhya Pradesh after fuel rates were increased for the tenth day in a row. Petrol price was hiked by 34 paise per litre and diesel by 32 paise, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. While branded or additive-laced petrol, which attracts higher taxes, had crossed the Rs 100-mark in some places in states like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, regular petrol crossed the physiological mark in Sriganganagar town of Rajasthan on Wednesday, and on Thursday it went past that mark in Madhya Pradesh. In Anuppur of Madhya Pradesh, petrol is priced at Rs 100.25 per litre and diesel at Rs 90.35. Fuel prices differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes such as VAT and freight charges.
Ahead of the first due date of advance tax payment on June 15, the government is likely to release guidelines on what will be covered within the ambit of virtual digital assets (VDA). To remove any ambiguity in the recently established tax framework for asset holders, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) is currently preparing guidelines, said government officials in the know. The apex direct tax body will define non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and whether or not they fall within the purview of VDA.
Digital commerce operators advertising on global social media, which earlier did not pay Google tax on their operations in Jammu & Kashmir, may now have to cough it up at 6 per cent.
Apart from simplifying the tax system enormously, with some modifications in the tax regime, a flat tax will also result in higher tax collections.
India's appetite for imported crude oil may wane in fiscal year (FY) 2023 from record levels in pre-pandemic 2019-20 fiscal as higher oil prices, a spillover from the conflict in Ukraine, and increasing use of biofuels affect domestic demand for petroleum products. Brent crude surged to a nine-year high, shy of a July 2008 record $147.50 a barrel, before declining to around $100 a barrel - but the volatility in commodity rates will slow global economic growth and use of fuels. Demand for all oil products may grow at only 2-3 per cent in FY23, slower than the current fiscal and nearly half the 5.5 per cent growth estimated by the petroleum ministry, according to industry officials.
The GST Council, chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, will meet on December 31 and discuss, among other things, report of the panel of state ministers on rate rationalisation. This will be a physical meeting, which will also discuss correction in duty inversion in certain goods. The 46th GST Council meeting will be held on December 31 in Delhi, an official said, adding that it will be an extension to the pre-budget meeting with state finance ministers on December 30. The Group of Ministers (GoM) on rate rationalisation will submit report to the Council.
It is now becoming increasingly clear that rising imports have played a significant role in sustaining the buoyancy in revenues from GST, notes A K Bhattacharya.
The cooking oil national industry body -- Solvent Extractors' Association (SEA) of India has suggested immediate initiation of government to government (G2G) dialogue with Indonesia on the proposed palm oil export ban from April 28 by them as it would have an adverse repercussions in India. Indonesia, which is the world's largest producer of palm oil and meets nearly 50 per cent of the total palm oil requirement in India annually, had announced to ban exports till further notice apparently to contain edible oil prices in their domestic market. "We have suggested our government initiate dialogue with Indonesian counterparts at the highest diplomatic level on the cooking oil export ban.
The government is ready for a debate in Parliament on price rise once Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recovers from Covid-19, the Bharatiya Janata Party asserted on Wednesday and targeted Rahul Gandhi, saying he may be "unproductive politically" but should not hurt the legislature's productivity.
She also took a swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party over its defeat in the just-concluded Himachal Pradesh assembly elections, saying the ruling party's president could not hold on to his home state. "Who is the Pappu now?" she asked.
Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) has urged the government to reduce import duty on gold to 4 per cent from 7.5 per cent and a special package for the sector in the forthcoming Budget to boost shipments. As part of its pre-Budget recommendations, the council has also suggested a reduction in the import duty on cut and polished diamonds; cut and polished precious and semi-precious gemstones from 7.5 per cent to 2.5 per cent. "If (gold) imported at 4 per cent duty rate....working capital amounting to Rs 225 crore would be blocked instead of Rs 500 crore," the council said in a statement.
Several income tax proposals, including 30 per cent tax on income from trade in cryptocurrencies will come into effect from Friday. Also, the revised norms for levy of 1 per cent TDS (tax deducted at source) on sale of immovable property exceeding Rs 50 lakh will come into effect from April 1, the beginning of the new financial year. As per the revised norms, TDS of 1 per cent shall be deducted on consideration or stamp duty value, which ever is higher, as against the earlier provision of consideration.
'In view of these facts I do not find it useful to attend the 7th Governing Council meeting of Niti Aayog scheduled to be held on August 7, 2022 and I am staying away from it'
Gehlot said even within the party, there is an opinion in favour of making Rahul the new president.
If an ITR is not filed or the tax due is not paid on the deceased person's behalf, there can be penal consequences.
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